


Haunted Places

by janto321 (FaceofMer)



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Anal Sex, Angst, Anonymous Sex, Bottom John Watson, M/M, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Post-Reichenbach
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-15
Updated: 2018-04-15
Packaged: 2019-04-23 05:50:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14325969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaceofMer/pseuds/janto321
Summary: John needs to forget, at least for a little while





	Haunted Places

John looked at the walls of the flat that wasn’t Baker Street. He knew moving out had been the right decision. Moving out and moving… on. But the ghosts had followed him here, too. 

Putting down the glass he’d been nursing, John got up and reached for his coat, ignoring the twinge of pain in his shoulder and the absence of a Belstaff he’d last seen wrapped around a body on the pavement. 

It was late. Or early. But there were places he could go, even at this hour. John locked the door behind him and managed to find a cab, giving an address from memory. He’d been there a few times when he first got home, when the walls got too close and the silence too loud.

John looked out the window as they drove through dark streets, trying, not for the first time, to see London the way Sherlock had.

Arriving at the destination, John paid the cabbie and headed into the busy, but fairly quiet bar. Many of the men here still had short hair and sat with their backs to the wall, eyes scanning the room as they sipped their pints. Some of the men were older, silver in their hair, canes leaned up against tables as they quietly thought of long-dead companions or spoke of things they’d seen with the only others who could possibly understand.

It was a place as full of ghosts and shadows as it was people and, John knew, somewhere he would not be quite so alone.

He got a pint and sat down, watching the room, noticing some of the men pairing off and speaking quietly together before heading for the stairs and momentary relief.

A broad, blond man sat down next to John, something dangerous in his eyes, and, perhaps a glimmer of recognition, though John was certain he would have remembered a man with as obvious a scar on his face.

They didn’t speak; there was no need to. They both knew how things went. When John finished his pint the other man left money on the table and got up. John followed him up the stairs, heart thrumming low in his chest and a sense of calm falling over him. This was dangerous, in a way, and potentially stupid, but he simply did not care.

The stranger led the way down a hall and pushed open a door. John followed him inside and his companion locked the door behind them. John’s hand flexed as he watched the man in the dim light.

And then he was on him, stripping John with ruthless efficiency. John let it happen, feeling rough hands on his skin. Sometimes there had been discussion and negotiation, but this was not that sort of man and John found himself welcoming it.

Once John was bare he found himself pushed towards the bed. John got on, following silent instructions to get on his hands and knees. He wondered what would have happened if he’d ever come to Sherlock this way, if he’d ever gone to the man’s bed instead of watching from a distance. Would Sherlock still have jumped?

Fingers pushing into him drove those thoughts from John’s mind, for which he was grateful. He shifted and spread his knees, closing his eyes and leaning forward onto his elbows. There was probably not enough prep when the fingers pulled away and he heard a condom ripping open.

That was okay. Pain would keep him here, keep the ghosts at bay.

His companion shifted up behind him and started pressing in. John briefly wondered if he was seeing his own ghosts, but then the stranger was folding over him, pushing in, stretching him wide.

John’s fists clenched, but he tried to relax. The man seemed more focused on his own pleasure, but John didn’t mind. That was what he was for, to be used and discarded as if nothing had ever mattered.

There was no kissing, no pretense of tenderness, simply two men seeking release. John took a breath and moved his hand to his own cock. 

The stranger shifted and grabbed John’s hand, pinning his wrists to the bed. John’s heart skipped as he was held down, but it felt right. He closed his eyes and rest his head on the mattress, not quite surrendering, but allowing things to be.

With a grunt the other man finished, thrusting until he was spent and then carefully pulling out with the condom, releasing John’s wrists. John reached down again and stroked himself off, marginally aware the other man had shifted off the bed to bin the condom.

At the last moment, he rolled onto his back to avoid coming all over the bed. Probably the next pair of blokes would appreciate it. He worked himself through and was surprised to feel a towel across his stomach, cleaning up at least his release.

John met his companion's eyes. The man gave a brief, military nod and turned away. John got up and pulled his clothes back on, already dreading the cab ride home to his current residence. Maybe he could walk.

Shaking his head, John moved towards the door and put his hand on the knob.

“Take care, John,” the man’s voice was rough.

Frowning, John looked back, but he was turned away. “Do I know you?”

The other man shook his head. “Naw, Don’t think so.”

John’s frown deepened. “What’s your name?” It wasn’t something often shared here, but if the man knew his name it felt only fair.

“Seb,” he said.

The name meant nothing to John, so he shrugged and turned the knob. “You take care yourself.” He stepped into the hall, made a final adjustment to his clothes, and headed back down the stairs. Even if only for a moment it had felt nice to be the center of someone’s world. He doubted he’d ever see the man, Seb, again, but perhaps that all depended on how often he came back to this place. And that, most likely, depended on the ghosts.

**Author's Note:**

> Becuase of the rare pair panel at 221B Con
> 
> Thanks to Beltainefaire for reading it over


End file.
